‘Twas the Day Before Thanksgiving… Jane was dreading her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. A few weeks ago she and her older sister, Becky, had gotten into an argument. It started out innocent enough, but quickly escalated, and before they knew it they were drumming up grievances from the past, even digging into childhood offenses in order to bolster their own positions. It got to the point that their husbands got involved. Jane herself had said some pretty offensive things. Becky had called Jane some fairly colorful names.

The Smith family has enjoyed being a part of parish life at St. Faustina. Getting involved in multiple parish ministries and events has helped them solidify a sense of community in the parish, and helped parents Dan and MaryAnn, to pass the Faith on to their children. After moving to Texas from California, the family knew that they would get more out of Mass if they spent time building community beyond Sunday Mass.

Mr. and Mrs. Scarlatella are raising their children (Gabriella, Joel, and Isabella) in the Catholic faith. They recently discussed some of the facets of growing their family in faith at St. Faustina’s.

When we move from the Eucharistic Prayers to the Communion Rite itself, the first thing we do is recite the Our Father. There is a strong temptation to assume that by saying “Our Father” the “our” we are referring to is simply those of us gathered together in the Church for this particular Mass.

We are so excited to welcome Fr. David Michael to St. Faustina’s! We know many of you have questions to ask our new parochial vicar and we are all anxious to get to know him. We took the time to ask him a few questions and are happy to share a bit of his story in our newsletter.

Now we come to the heart of the Mass: the Eucharistic Prayers. By being attentive to these prayers, the rest of the Mass suddenly begins to “pop” for us and really make sense. But these prayers are so rich, and in some cases so wordy, that it’s helpful to have something of a roadmap to guide us through them. So for our purposes here, let’s discuss the three key themes that are woven throughout all four of the Eucharistic prayers and serve to guide us into their deeper meaning. As we dive into these themes, it’s important to remember that they are not progressive, building off one another, but are woven throughout the prayers like a golden thread tying them together.

The Great Recession gave all Americans a reason to question their individual career paths. Many who had dedicated years to a profession found themselves out of work and many graduates found themselves unable to find employment after years of study. Even now, a decade post-recession, some industries are still struggling and many Americans find themselves transitioning careers; sometimes the change is welcome, often it’s not. 

Leah Burrhus will be blessed by Fr. Dat at the 4:30 pm Mass on June 16th. We invite you to read her vocation story and join us in prayer as she embarks on her journey of faith!

This spring, St. Faustina parishioners participated in our first annual “Camping With Jesus” event. People of all ages enjoyed a time of fellowship and greatly appreciated the opportunity to come together for two essentials when camping with Jesus - s’mores and Adoration.

Sharmila Jayatilleke reminds us, “God's two greatest commandments are to love God and love others.” Through parish involvement, particularly service, the Jayatilleke family has found a true spiritual home at St. Faustina.

Let me ask you something. When was the last time you made it through Mass without getting distracted? When was the last time you made it through the first five minutes of Mass without getting distracted? For that matter, when was the last time you made it through the entrance procession without getting distracted? Be honest…

Picture this. It’s Friday evening. You call a close friend to invite them over for dinner on Sunday. Your friend is thrilled with the invitation and asks, “What can I bring?” You don’t really want to put them out, so you say, “Why don’t you bring a salad.” Your friend agrees, and you both hang up the phone, eagerly awaiting your Sunday evening meal.

Steve and Cheryl Steadman have been happily married for thirty-four years, but it’s within this past year that they have experienced tremendous spiritual growth together as a couple. Cheryl, a cradle Catholic, and Steve, a Protestant, raised their sons Ethan and Dillion in the Baptist faith. They lived life together making the most of their spiritual similarities without making too much of a fuss over their differences.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process by which prospective Catholics unite with the faith community for the conversion of hearts. Generally, RCIA is for individuals who were never baptized or were baptized outside of the Catholic Church. Father Dat Hoang and the RCIA leaders welcome and initiate newcomers (Inquirers) through a program of liturgical, educational, and social events during the year.

Jesus tells us, “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” This has traditionally been interpreted as our need to detach ourselves from the things of this world – especially the accumulation of wealth – and to attach ourselves more fully to God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). It’s a good interpretation. And we should spend some time pondering the question: What greater sign of detachment is there than for us to give away our wealth?